Method of making synthetic petroleum components

ABSTRACT

Synthetic petroleum components are produced by electrolysis of soap and or salts made from materials comprising (a) vegetable oil and/or (b) animal fat and/or (c) esters and/or (d) organic acids by reacting these materials ((a) and/or (b) and/or (c) and/or (d) with any combination of materials (e) sodium Hydroxide(lye) and/or (f) soda ash (sodium carbonate) and/or (g) the potassium equivalents of the sodium compounds. Two possible products of the present invention are ethane (a possible replacement for methane in natural gas) and custom made synthetic lubricating oils made from algae in relatively pure form.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This invention is a continuation of U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61268170 filed on Jun. 09, 2009 which is included here.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

It was discovered shortly after the begining of the twentieth century, that electrolysis of soap or acetic acid causes decarboxylation followed by the creation of free radicals composed of the carbon ligand of the organic acid part of the soap. Two free radicals then join to make a petroleum hydrocarbon.

It has been found in recent years, that the burning of fossil fuels produces global warming because of the addition of carbon dioxide from millions of years ago to today's carbon dioxide. Also, sources of fossil fuels are becoming harder to develop. Therefore there exists a need for replacements for fossil fuels and other products of the petroleum industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the foregoing need by providing a method of making petroleum components using today's carbons in a manner that does not compete with the food industry.

This invention is concerned with the production of hydrocarbons like those found in petroleum deposits around the world and some components that may not be found in petroleum deposits. More particularly, this invention proposes the use of electrolysis of the organic acids from vegetable oils and esters that are made soluble by converting them to soap or salts.

This mixture of bicarbonate solution and hydrocarbon product is sent to a separation step to separate the water solution from the hydrocarbon products. The separator is usually a tall generally upright container with a tap usually at the bottom so that the bicarbonate solution on the bottom can be removed. The top layer is then sent to another container.

The bicarbonate solution may be discarded and replaced by fresh lye solution in the soap making step, or it may be converted to carbonate, by heating at a high temperature to drive off carbon dioxide, followed by treatment with lime to convert it into a lye. Another way to convert the bicarbonate into lye is an electrolysis method which is known in the arts.

The present invention provides an industrial method for making these petroleum components in a way that uses renuable raw materials such as algae oils and which does not compete with food sources. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, esters, obtained from algae, are used as the raw material. The present invention is not limited to algae oils, but includes any vegetable oil and animal fat and any carboxylic acid. It also includes waste liquid and solid fats. and the esters that are called biodiesel. The esters or acids are saponified with “lye”. The lye includes any of the members of the alkali family and the members of the alkaline earth group, such as magnesium, that can be made soluble. It also includes the organic ammonium salts and the salts that are formed from derivatives of ammonia such as quaternary ammonium salts and amino salts. The esters are first introduced into a soap making apparatus in which the organic acids of the esters are converted to soap. This conversion is usually necessary to make the organic acids soluble and to make the organic acids able to conduct an electric current. [0006]The next step is to subject the soap to electrolysis for an amount of time sufficent to convert all of the organic acids into hydrocarbons. The hydrocarbons are the petroleum product. The result of the electrolysis is a mixture of bicarbonate solution and the petroleum products along with various oxidation products. The oxidation products might be reduced by including a primary alcohol such as methanol in the feedstock to the electrolysis step.

More specifically, The soap making apparatus is a generally upright container with a means of heating and stirring the mixture inside. The raw materials, consisting of organic esters or organic acids together with lye are heated for about 3 hours to make soap. The materials are periodically stirred during soap making and then an equal amount of water is added to make the soap fluid. The soap is then transported, by means of a pump assembly, to an electrolysis apparatus.

The electrolysis apparatus is a generally upright container with two or more usually flat plate electrical conductors made of graphite or stainless steel or any of the many materials in order to pass an electric current, usually direct current, through the soap solution inside.

It must be understood that the container and the electrical conductors may take many forms, but generally the conductors are in a parallel arrangement and close together in order to pass maximum electric current between them. The soap solution is usually stirred or circulated to ensure that all of the starting material is subjected to electrolysis. The mixture from the electrolysis step is transported, preferrably by means of a pump assembly to a separating apparatus which is a generally upright container with a tap at or near the bottom to remove the contents after separation. A means of detecting the difference between water and oil may be included. Said detector may consist of a strip with two wires, uninsulated at the bottom and connected to a circuit which turns on a switch which operates a light to signal an operator or preferably in an automated operation, to activate a pump assembly operated by a computer program which controls the removal of the water solution and after that, the removal of the petroleum product.

The bicarbonate solution can be discarded or it may be heated to drive off carbon dioxide and then heated repeatedly with lime to make lye. After each treatment with lime, the lye solution is decanted from the top and the precipitate from the bottom is discarded. Alternatly, the bicarbonate may be converted to lye by means of an electrolytic method known to those skilled in the art. The lye may then be reused to make soap.

The steps described here provide one set of embodiments to accomplish the essential operation of electrolysis of soap made from esters and organic acids. Other methods of accomplishing these essential steps will readily occur to someone with skill in the arts. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of a method of making synthetic petroleum in accordance with the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a preferred method of making synthetic petroleum components.

FIGS. 2A-G shows the chemical formulas involved in the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning to FIG. 1, a schematic diagram of a method of making synthetic petroleum components according to the present invention is illustrated.

Generally described, is a soap making apparatus 10, which has a means of heating 13 and a means of stirring 14. Also shown is the soap making chemicals, vegetable oil 11 and lye or potash 12. FIG. 1 also shows an electrolysis tank 18 with it's electrodes 19 and it's power source 20 and a separating container 22 with it's water sensor 23 and it's detection device 24. Also shown are pump assemblies 16, 17, 21, and 25, and 27, each of which includes an entry pipe, a pump and an exit pipe. The stirring means pictured here is a manual means, however the present invention would preferrably use an electrical stirring means that can be used with automatic control.

Water, 15 is added to container 10 by means of pump assembly 16 to dilute the soap in order to make it more fluid.

In FIG. 1, vegetable oil 11 and lye or potash 12 are added to soap making container 18 and the mixture is heated using heater 13 and stirred using stirring means 14 according to the instructions in example 1.

Also included but not shown for each step are control devices which are valves and switches and or relays which are either manually or electrically operated. Finally, illustrated, are collecting container 26 to collect the petroleum product and container 28 which is used to collect the bicarbonate and glycerin bi-product. The soap is pumped to electrolysis tank 18 using pump assembly 17. The electrolysis tank is operated according to example 1, by applying power 20 to electrodes 19, and the resulting mixture of water solution of bicarbonate and glycerin and the hydrocarbon product are transferred by means of pump assembly 21 to separating container 22. The separating container 22 is allowed to stand until the petroleum products rise to the top. The water mixture is removed from the bottom of the separating container 22, using pump assembly 25 until the water mixture has been removed as indicated by detector 23, to container 26, using pump assembly 25. Pump assembly 25 is turned off and pump assembly 27 is then started and the petroleum products are transferred to container 28. Turning to FIG. 2, FIG. 2 a shows an equation for basic soap making. The organic acid, (C17H33C00)3C3H5, is saponified by lye (sodium hydroxide, NaOH), to make soap, C17H33COONa. FIG. 2 b describes an equation of the electrolysis step. In this step, the organic acid part of the soap is decarboxylated causing the production of free radicals. The free radicals are denoted by brackets[]. FIG. 2 c shows 2 free radicals joining to form a hydrocarbon. This is the petroleum product. Some oxidation products are also formed but are not shown.

FIG. 2 d shows an equation for the electrolysis of acetic acid. Again, decarboxylation occurs and free radicals are formed. FIG. 2 e shows 2 free radicals coming together to form a hydrocarbon product. In this case the product is ethane gas, CH3CH3. FIG. 2 f Shows an equation for the electrolysis of sodium acetate, which produces the free radicals. FIG. 2 g shows the free radicals again comming together to form ethane gas.

The following examples will illustrate the present invention. They are presented here only to illustrate this invention and are not intended to limit the scope of this invention. In these examples, the nature and amounts of the various oxidation products produced in the electrolysis are unpredictable but the amounts are believed to be small compared with the amounts of hydrocarbon products. The oxidation products may also be valuable. The amounts of the products are calculated amounts based on stoicheometric results. The actual results may vary slightly.

EXAMPLE 1:

In this example, 1.768 kilograms of corn oil is mixed with 260 grams of sodium hydroxide in 2 liters of water and added to a soap making container and the mixture is stirred until it thickens to the consistancy of pudding and heated covered at 72 degrees centigrade for 3 hours with stirring every 20 minutes. This makes 1.824 kilograms of soap. 2 liters of water is added and the soap solution is added to an electrolysis container and 85 amperes of direct current is passed through the electrolysis container for 2 hours. This produces a mixture of 504 grams of sodium bicarbonate and 1422 grams of a mixture of the petroleum product and various oxidation products of the petroleum product such as an alcohol. This mixture is transferred to a settling container and allowed to stand for 6 hours until the soluble and insoluble components separate. The sodium bicarbonate solution is removed from the bottom of the settling container and discarded. The petroleum products are then removed and transferred to another container.

EXAMPLE 2:

In this example, 1.768 kilograms of corn oil is mixed with 414 grams of potassium Carbonate in 2.67 liters of water and added to a soap making container and the mixture is stirred until it reaches the consistancy of pudding. It is then heated at 72 degrees centigrade for 3 hours with stirring every 10 minutes to make 1.824 kilograms of soap. The soap is mixed with 2 liters of water and the solution is added to an electrolysis container and 85 amperes of direct current is passed through the electrolysis container for 2 hours.

This produces a mixture of 600 grams of potassium bicarbonte and 1422 grams of a mixture of the petroleum products and various oxidation products. This mixture is transferred to a settling container and allowed to stand for 6 hours until the two liquids separate. The potassium bicarbonate solution is removed from the bottom of the settling container and discarded. The petroleum product is then removed and transferred to another container.

EXAMPLE 3:

In this example, 1.768 kilograms of corn oil is mixed with 200 grams of 31% sulfuric acid and heated at boiling for 4 hours. This produces a mixture of 1.704 kilograms of organic acids and 184 grams of glycerin. The mixture is then transferred to a settling container to allow the organic acids to rise to the top. The settling container is allowed to stand for 6 hours until complete separation of the mineral acid solution and the organic acids is acheived. The Liquid containing the sulfuric acid and glycerin is removed from the bottom using a tap at the bottom. The organic acids are then transferred, using a pump assembly to a soap making container. 318 grams of sodium carbonate disolved in 2 liters of water is added to the soap making container and the mixture is heated at 72 degrees centigrade for 3 hours to make 1.824 kilograms of soap. The soap and 2 liters of water are added to an electrolysis container and 85 amperes of direct current is passed through the electrolysis container for 2 hours. The result of this electrolysis is the production of 1422 grams of a mixture of petroleum and various oxidation products and 504 grams of sodium bicarbonate. The mixture of sodium bicarbonate and the petroleum products are then transferred to a settling container and allowed to stand for 6 hours until the two liquids separate. The sodium bicarbonate solution is removed from the bottom of the settling container and discarded. The petroleum product is then removed and transferred to another container.

EXAMPLE 4:

In this example, 1.768 kilograms of corn oil is mixed with a solution of 336 grams of potassium hydroxide in 5 kilograms of alcohol (95-100%). 100 grams of water is added to the mixture and the mixture is stirred until mixed completely.

The mixture is boiled under reflux for 3 hours. This makes 1.824 kilograms of soap. This is followed by removal of the alcohol by distillation. 4 liters of water is then added, and the mixture is stirred until it becomes homogenious and the resulting soap mixture is then transferred to an electrolyser.

The electrolyser is operated with 85 amperes of direct current for 2 hours. This produces 1422 grams of a mixture of petroleum compounds and oxidation products and 600 grams of potassium bicarbonate. The mixture is transferred to an oil/water separater. The mixture is allowed to stand 6 hours to separate the mixture into water solution and petroleum product and the potassium bicarbonate is removed from the bottom by means of a tap at the bottom and discarded and the petroleum compounds are removed and stored. Ethanol is generally satisfactory for the soap making but other solvents have also been recommended.

EXAMPLE 5:

In this example, 360 grams of acetic acid is placed into an electrolysis container and 83 amperes of direct current is passed through the electrolysis container for 2 hours. The product which is 90 grams of a mixture of ethane gas and various oxidation products is transferred by means of a pressure pump to a liquifier and collected in a pressure container.

EXAMPLE 6:

In this example, 360 grams of acetic acid is mixed with 504 grams of sodium bicarbonate disolved in 4 liters of water and added to a container and the carbon dioxide is allowed to bubble out. This produces 492 grams of sodium acetate.

The sodium acetate solution is added to an electrolysis container and 85 amperes of direct current is passed through the electrolysis container for 2 hours. This produces a mixture of 504 grams of sodium bicarbonate and 90 grams of a mixture of ethane gas and various oxidation products. The ethane gas is transferred, using a pressure pump, to a pressure container. The sodium bicarbonate is saved for reuse.

The present invention illustrates the industrial scale synthesis of many of the components of natural petroleum without the impurities which are found in natural petroleum (dirt and shale and unwanted components). In the preferred embodiment of the invention, These products are made using vegetable oils and esters from algae to make C-2 to C-34 hydrocarbons. It has been found that algae in acid water makes sugar. This could lead to a large production of ethanol which does not compete with food sources. The ethanol can be converted to acetic acid by methods which are known to those skilled in the arts. The acetic acid can be used in these processes.

There are many possible variations of the methods used in the present invention which do not depart from the essential operation of industrial electrolysis of organic acids as described herein. The scope of the present invention will include all of these variations. 

1. A method of making a synthetic petroleum product by exposing to electrolysis, soap, made from the group consisting of (a) a vegetable oil (b), an animal fat, and (c) an ester and (d) an organic acid combined with materials from the group consisting of (e) sodium carbonate, (f) sodium hydroxide, and (g) any of the potasium equivalents of the sodium compounds.
 2. A method as in claim 1, in which a prior step is used to make the organic acid by heating members of the group defined in claim 1, as (a) and (b) and (c) with sulfuric acid or another mineral acid.
 3. A method as in claim 1, in which (d) acetic acid is reacted with sodium bicarbonate to make sodium acetate, before the electrolysis step, to produce ethane gas.
 4. A method as in claim 3, in which (d) acetic acid is electrolysed directly to produce ethane gas.
 5. A method as in claim 1, in which a heater is used raise the temperature of the electrolysis step to near the boiling point.
 6. A Method as in claim 1 in which the entire operation is controlled by a computer program using relays and pump assemblies and other control devices.
 7. A Method as in claim 3 in which the entire operation is controlled by a computer program using relays and pump assemblies and other control devices. 